SILVER SPRINGS, Md.

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. — A 1/30-scale model of the aeroshell configuration for the Mars Science Laboratory underwent aerodynamic atmospheric descent testing at AEDC’s Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 Facility. A Schlieren image (right) shows the density variations in the air flow around the aeroshell configuration for the Mars Science Laboratory during recent aerodynamic testing at AEDC’s Hypersonic Tunnel 9. (AEDC photo)

SILVER SPRINGS, Md.

Arnold AFB conducts successful testing of Mars entry vehicle

Published July 26, 2006
By Philip Lorenz III
Arnold Engineering Development Center Public Affairs

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- A team at the U.S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center’s Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 Facility in Silver Spring, Md., recently successfully completed atmospheric entry testing of the aeroshell configuration for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), tentatively due to be launched in 2009 for the seven-month journey to the “Red” planet.

The aeroshell is the delivery vehicle for the MSL, an instrumentation suite carried aboard a rover that is twice as long as and three times heavier than the previous ones sent to Mars. The aeroshell will provide a protective covering for the MSL during entry into the Martian atmosphere.

“The objective of our particular test program was looking at the aerodynamic characteristics of this delivery vehicle, the aeroshell, which will house the rover and instrumentation suite,” explained Arnold Collier, project engineer at Tunnel 9. “The entry into Mars’ atmosphere is going to be a precision trajectory, so there will be a need for a high degree of accuracy in characterizing the flow field around the capsule as it enters the Martian atmosphere.”

Tunnel 9 used nitrogen to simulate the Martian atmosphere, which is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and is considerably less dense than Earth’s atmosphere.

The 2009 launch will be a milestone for NASA, which is about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Viking program. It was this program that successfully landed

two aeroshell vehicles on Mars. The MSL’s mission will be to explore and assess a local region on the surface of Mars as a potential habitat for life.